Face the handleless side toward incoming Dust
The Pressure Chamber turns Moon Dust into Moon Sand: its Dust inlet is on the side without the handle, so face that side toward your incoming Conveyor. Connect the separate outlet to a belt carrying Moon Sand toward the Depot or a Stone Press.
Prepare the feed and selling route
Use the Building Tool to access the production and power options for your setup. Before placing the chamber, identify where Dust will arrive, where Moon Sand will leave and where the machine will receive power. Leave an accessible approach at each port so you can inspect the connections after construction.
A Packager can feed Dust capsules along a Conveyor into the Pressure Chamber. Its job is packaging and transport; the chamber performs the conversion into Moon Sand. If raw Dust already reaches the Depot reliably, you have a useful delivery route to build your processing line around.
Cost, processing speed and Moon Sand value
| Option | Value and planning advice |
|---|---|
| Pressure Chamber cost | $500 for the machine. Keep money available for its power supply and Conveyor connections. |
| Processing capacity | Up to 5 kg of Moon Dust every 12 seconds. Allow the processing cycle to finish before judging the output. |
| Continuous-operation ceiling | A theoretical 25 kg of Dust per minute when continuously supplied and operating normally. |
| Operating power | 10 kW for the chamber. Account for other connected machines when checking the supply. |
| Moon Sand sale value | Approximately three times the value of raw Dust. Check that the processed material reaches the Depot. |
The processing ceiling depends on a steady supply, adequate power and an outgoing Conveyor that can clear the material. Interruptions anywhere along that route reduce actual throughput. Compare the material reaching the Depot before expanding, because a higher sale value alone does not show how quickly your whole line earns money.
Connect the chamber and test a load
- Choose a position with straightforward belt approaches. Keeping bends and height changes away from the final approach makes a reversed or disconnected Conveyor easier to recognize.
- Orient the chamber so the side without the handle faces your Dust supply. This aligns the directional inlet with the incoming material.
- Place the chamber across several foundations if your layout needs it. The machine can span foundation boundaries and fit on square foundations, so a foundation seam does not require a different layout.
- Connect the incoming Dust Conveyor to the handleless inlet. Watch the connection itself: a belt that merely sits beside the chamber has not demonstrated that it can feed the machine.
- Connect an outgoing Conveyor from the separate Moon Sand outlet toward the Depot. This gives the processed material a route out of the chamber and into your delivery system.
- Provide enough connected power to meet the chamber's 10 kW demand. Check available generation and stored energy so the machine can operate after Dust arrives.
Watch a test load enter the chamber and emerge as Moon Sand. Sand leaving the outlet confirms that conversion has begun.Playing this video connects to YouTube.
- Follow the outgoing material to the Depot. A payout confirms that the delivery route works as well as the chamber, giving you a complete test before you send more Dust through.
Give the chamber enough usable power
A basic Solar Post provides 3 kW, so two posts supply only 6 kW of nominal generation, below the chamber's 10 kW requirement. Compare the power readout with the demand of every connected machine. Counting solar structures without checking their generation can leave a seemingly complete setup short of power.
Keep the chamber within the wireless coverage of its solar equipment. During daylight, check that generation can support the factory and replenish stored energy. When sunlight is insufficient, stored charge determines whether production can continue, so a daytime test does not establish that the line will keep running overnight.
Find why Moon Sand is not leaving
- Dust stops before entering: inspect the inlet on the side without the handle and verify that the incoming Conveyor physically reaches it. Correct the feed connection before treating this as a processing failure.
- Dust enters but no Moon Sand leaves: inspect the chamber's 10 kW demand, available generation and stored energy. Then check whether the output belt can accept material.
- Moon Sand waits at the outlet: trace the outgoing Conveyor to find where movement stops. Clear or reconnect the blocked route before spending money on more processing equipment.
- Production stops after sunset: inspect battery charge and total grid demand. A chamber that worked in daylight may stop when stored energy runs low, even though its belts still look connected.
- Dust keeps queuing while Sand still leaves: verify power and connections, then watch whether the queue shrinks. A persistent backlog at a correctly operating chamber can mean incoming Dust exceeds its processing capacity.
Expand when processing capacity is the limit
Consider another Pressure Chamber only after the existing chamber accepts Dust, has adequate power and clears its output. A Splitter can divide the incoming route between chambers, but each branch still needs its own belt connection. Recheck power before adding machinery, since an adequate supply for the original setup may not support the expanded line.